Legal, human rights and First Nations groups have condemned the Victorian government’s overhaul of the state’s bail laws, which will force courts to treat children accused of serious crimes like adults when deciding whether to remand them or release them into the community.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, on Wednesday announced proposed changes to the Bail Act that would result in more unsentenced people being remanded in custody.
“These changes will see more people on remand. These changes will tackle the heart of the issue, which is repeat offending that is of grave concern to Victorians,” Allan said.
If passed by parliament, the changes would scrap the principle of remand only as a “last resort” for accused youth offenders. In its place, community safety would become the “overarching principle” when deciding bail for children and adults.
Repeat offenders of serious crimes, such as aggravated burglary and carjacking, would also face a new bail test, requiring them to prove there is a “high degree of probability” they won’t reoffend.
The Police Association welcomed the proposed changes, with secretary Wayne Gatt saying they would “swing the pendulum back in the favour of good, innocent people and families”.
But it has sparked outrage in legal circles, who were broadly supportive of earlier changes to the bail laws in 2023 made following a coronial inquest into the death of Veronica Nelson.
Nelson, an Aboriginal woman, died in custody in early 2020 after being remanded for shoplifting.
While Allan said Nelson’s death was a tragedy, she said the changes her government had made in 2023 “got it wrong”.
She said as part of the overhaul the government would reintroduce the offence of committing an indictable crime while on bail, which the coroner investigating Nelson’s death found disproportionately impacted First Nations people and women.
Kate Bundrock, the executive director of criminal law at Victorian Legal Aid, called the changes a “backwards step for Victoria,” warning they would cause “serious harm” to vulnerable people facing poverty, homelessness and trauma.
Michelle Bennet, president of Liberty Victoria, said they were “in complete opposition” to the principle of innocence until proven guilty.
“It’s counterproductive and will make the situation worse,” she said.
The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Services chief executive, Nerita Waight, said the government had “prioritised their political agenda and votes” rather than “tackling the real problems”, such as access to housing, employment, mental health, substance abuse and family violence services.
“They have effectively signed the death warrants of those that their institutions and police have successively failed,” Waight said.
Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe said the move was a “shameful kneejerk reaction”, which contradicted the federal government’s Closing the Gap target to reduce the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in custody.
“It’s despicable that after Veronica Nelson’s family went through the trauma of a coronial inquest, and fought so hard for change, Allan has backflipped so quickly,” Thorpe said.
The Australian Lawyers Alliance, Human Rights Legal Centre, Federation of Community Legal Centres and Justice Reform Initiative were also critical of the proposed reforms.
The announcement follows weeks of pressure from the opposition and media on the “youth crime crisis” in the state, which includes the Herald Sun’s “Suburbs Under Siege” campaign and a “Bring on Bail Reform” petition by FM radio hosts Fifi, Fev and Nick.
Labor MPs have also crime continues to be raised by their constituents. Several posted on social media spruiking the proposed changes on Wednesday.
The attorney-general, Sonya Kilkenny said she was driven to act after meeting with crime victims.
“I met with a victim of crime …. [who] spoke about the fear and terror that her children are experiencing, and she looked at me and said, ‘The people who did this were out on bail. How did this happen?” she said.
“I didn’t have an answer for her. To me, that was so compelling.”
Police and government have previously said there are about 300 repeat youth offenders of concern, with an even smaller group of about 25 responsible for most of the alleged offending.
The government plans to ram the legislation through parliament in next week, angering crossbenchers.
The Greens’ Katherine Copsey described the proposed changes as “policy on the run from a panicking premier”, while Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell said she would struggle to do the work to prepare before parliament returns on Tuesday.
“Changes to bail laws are very serious … They should not be rushed or forced upon us in a way that doesn’t allow proper consultation or consideration,” she said.
Legalise Cannabis leader Rachel Payne said she expected the government to make a deal with the Coalition to pass the bill.
Shadow attorney-general Michael O’Brien said the opposition needed more detail before forming a position.
“The premier admitted she got it badly wrong the last time she introduced bail changes, so why would we trust her this time?” he said.